Questions worth asking

A merchant cash advance is often decided within 24 to 48 hours of us receiving bank statements, with funding the same or next business day after you sign. Lines of credit and term loans run a few days longer. SBA loans take 30 to 90 days and there is no fast version of them.

No. The initial review uses a soft credit check, which does not affect your score and is not visible to other lenders. A hard inquiry happens only if you decide to move forward on a specific offer, and we tell you before it happens.

Three to six months of business bank statements and basic details about the business. That is enough for a real answer. We do not need tax returns, projections or a business plan for a first read.

No. Hudson Row Advisors is a broker. We place your file with third-party funders and they make the credit decision and provide the capital. The funder pays us a commission when a deal closes; you pay us no fee.

It is priced with a factor rate, not an interest rate. A $50,000 advance at a 1.30 factor means you repay $65,000 in total, regardless of how long it takes. Because the total is fixed, repaying early does not reduce the cost the way it would on a loan. Ask us to convert any offer into an annualised figure so you can compare it with a term loan.

No. It is the purchase of a portion of your future receivables at a discount. That distinction matters legally and practically: there is no interest rate, no fixed maturity date, and the product is not regulated the way a loan is.

Often, yes. Advances and factoring weigh deposit history far more heavily than credit score, and both are regularly placed below a 600 FICO. Poor credit narrows the options and raises the cost. It does not usually end the conversation.

Sometimes, but tell us up front. Funders see existing advances in your bank statements regardless, and an undisclosed one ends the application. We will also say plainly when stacking is a bad idea, because it is the fastest way we see businesses get into real trouble.

On a term loan or line of credit, check the agreement, because some have one, some do not, and we will point it out. On a merchant cash advance the concept does not apply in the usual sense: the total remittance is fixed at signing, so paying faster shortens the term without reducing the amount. Some funders offer a discount for early payoff; that has to be negotiated up front, not later.

It depends on the product and the amount. Most advances require a performance guarantee rather than a full personal guarantee. Term loans and SBA loans almost always require a personal guarantee. We will tell you which applies before you sign anything.

Most funders restrict a small set of categories, and the list varies between them. Rather than guess, ask on the first call, and we can usually tell you in a minute whether the category is placeable.

For an advance, a common rule of thumb is roughly 50 to 150 per cent of one month of revenue, though it varies widely by funder, industry and file quality. Other products are sized differently. The application will produce a real number rather than a rule of thumb.

It goes to funders considering your file and nowhere else. We do not sell your details to lead buyers or add you to marketing lists you did not ask for. See the privacy policy for the full statement.

Acquisition is usually an SBA 7(a) case. It is slower and more document-heavy than anything else on this site, but it is also the cheapest capital most buyers will access. Start the conversation early, three months earlier than you think you need to.